Churchill Downs CEO talks up FanDuel and DraftKings partnerships
Bill Carstanjen claims relationships, which were forged in 2022, continue to perform well as he looks ahead to Kentucky Derby gains
Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen has praised the company’s partnerships with DraftKings and FanDuel ahead of this year’s Kentucky Derby.
Commenting during Churchill Downs’ post-Q1 results call, Carstanjen said progress with the operator giants had been “very satisfying” and that the business would be able to take further stock following the Derby, which is due to held on May 4.
The CEO explained: “The relationships have gone very well. The ability of our teams to work together and make progress together has really been very satisfying.”
“I think its fair to say that the marketing around recruiting players, whether it be for TwinSpires that is a single product asset that just focuses on horse racing or for DraftKings and FanDuel [as a] multi-product platform, it is all about the Derby.
“I think, as we approach 2024, we’ve already seen some of the activities of not just DraftKings and FanDuel but others around horse racing and around the Derby, and we encourage that.
“I think the real check-in point on the progress really will come after we get a chance to reflect on the results we see for this year’s Derby,” he added.
Back in 2022, Churchill Downs entered agreements with DraftKings and FanDuel, providing both operators with the technology to allow their users to place bets on horse races on their respective apps.
In terms of FanDuel, the deal gave the operator certain television rights to the racing content of all Churchill Downs thoroughbred racetracks, as well as non-exclusive Derby sponsorship rights.
FanDuel offers horse racing betting via its sportsbook app and the recently launched FanDuel Racing app.
As part of this year’s Derby, which will be the 150th anniversary of the race, FanDuel plans to host its inaugural Kentucky Derby party on May 3, while FanDuel TV is gearing up for a week-long broadcasting schedule including a live edition of Up & Adams from Churchill Downs.
Meanwhile, for DraftKings, the partnership allowed for the rollout of DK Horse, a specific horse racing betting app that went live in December 2022.
As part of Churchill Downs’ Q1 report, the firm noted record net revenue of $590.0m, which is up 6% compared to Q1 2023.
The company also reported a record EBITDA, at $242.5m, up 9% compared to Q1 2023, while TwinSpires revenue increased 18% and adjusted EBITDA moved up 35%.